Shoe rack



Jan. 5, 1937.. w. PEAS E 2,067,095

SHOE RACK Filed Se t. 18,1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1

Elma/whom 'Wiiliam C. .Pease Jan. 5, 1937. w c, p sE 2,067,095

SHOE RACK Filed Sept. 18, 1934 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to racks or stands for holding shoes for display purposes and particularly to racks which are adjustable to suit varied conditions. i

. In thesale of shoes, as well as other merchandise, the proper display of the goods is an important aid to; the salesman in making an appeal to the customer. Due to the large number of typesfand styles of mens, womens and childrens shoes kept in every shoe store, it has been found to be difiicult to properly display the many types ands'tyles in an appealing manner. There has been found'to be a need for a shoe display rack which is adapted to the changing conditions in a shoestore which may be brought about by the changes or discontinuance of styles, incoming shipments and any other of the many changes "which mayoccur. It has been found that such a rack must display the shoes to a maximum extent or it fails in its purpose.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an improved shoe rack or stand.

I Another object of the invention is the provision ,of such a rack having an improved adjustable shoesupporting means.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of such a rack having a separate adjustment for the toes and heels of the shoes on display.

A still'further object of the invention is the provision of such a shoe rack having separate supporting means for the toes and heels and having them adjustable relative to each other.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of such a shoe rack having separate supporting means for toes and heels of shoes and having at least one of these pivotally adjustable independently of the other supporting means.

Other and further objects of the invention will 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a view from the right in Fig. 5 but with the front shelf l6 removed for clearness.

Fig. '7 is a fragmental sectional view on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7,

Fig. 9 is a view of the securing means of Fig. 8 as viewed from the left,

Fig. 10 is a cross section on the line lil-l0 of Fig. 1,

Figs. 11 and 12 are detail views of the separating tabs.

Similar reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the specification and drawings.

In the drawings, l0 designates base members which are located at the lower portions of the rack and serve as supports for the Whole structure. Set into each of these base members are two uprights, for carrying the shoe-supporting members. These uprights in the embodiment illustrated, are slightly diiferent in construction. The uprights H are illustrated at the rear of the uprights l2, the former being in position for carrying the heel-supporting means and the latter in position to carry the toe-supporting means.

In the form of the invention illustrated, which is to display shoes on both sides of the rack, I have shown two uprights l l and two uprights 12 for each base member ID.

At the top of the uprights HI, II is located a header member l3 which is secured to the uprights in any suitable manner.

It will be noted that the upper portions of the uprights R2 are bent backwardly to an extent to assist in the display of the shoes on the rack.

Extending between the corresponding uprights H, are the heel-supporting means in the form of rails l4. These rails or heel-supporting means I4 have at their forward ends, heelchecking portions Ma. which act to prevent forward movement of the shoe beyond the desired position when the heel-supporting means is higher than the toe-supporting means, to be described. This heel-checking portion also serves as a gauge to permit the user to place or replace shoes in their proper positions. Each heel-supporting means l4, I la is provided at each end with an attaching and securing means to be later described in detail. By means of this securing means, the heel-supporting means can be adjusted as to height along the inner sides of the uprights II and thus provide for placing the shoes at various heights. And by placing the heel-supporting means at different heights relative to the toe-supporting means, the

shoes may be placed at the desired angle relative to the sight of the observer.

Extending between the uprights [2 are toesupporting means l5 in the form of rods or rails extending the length of the rack. These toe-supporting means, like the heel-supporting means are adjustable vertically along the uprights l2 to provide for the various conditions as to the number of rows and angularity of the position of the shoes desired by. the user.

To provide for supporting shoe boxes at the bottom of the rack, if this is desired, I provide the front shelf l6 and the rear shelf II, the latter having a back board portion Ila to limit the rearward movement of the box when being placed or replaced on the shelf.

It will be noted that the front shelf I6 may be of the same or similar construction as the toe-supporting rail I5 previously described. The lower front shelf l6 may be kept always at the lowermost position at all times, if desired.

In order to stiffen the structure from end thrusts, I provide the longitudinal member l8 which is secured to the uprights I9, which in turn are firmly secured to the header members l3.

It is to be noted that the rear shelf I! may be so placed on its securing members, to be described, that it will occupy a position to the rear as shown at the bottom of Fig. 2. By means of this adjustment, boxes of different size may be accommodated as, for example, men's and childrens shoe boxes.

I will now describe the securing means which I employ in fastening the shelves and heel and toe-supporting means or rails, to the uprights. Those portions of the securing means which are fastened to the shelves and heel and toe-supporting means are of two types-pivoting and non-pivoting. In the case of the shelves and toe-supporting means, it is usual to use the nonpivoted type while in the case of the heel-supporting means, it is usual to use the pivoted type. However, these uses may be varied to suit the conditions.

I will first describe my non-pivoted type of securing means as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. The upright I2 is provided with a slot l2a in which may be secured the guide 20. The guide 20' consists of a strip of sheet metal having its two sides folded over so as to form a slot with flanges 20a, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. This guide 20 in the herein disclosed embodiment is provided in the slot of each of the uprights H and i2 and is adapted for use with either the pivoted or non-pivoted securing means.

Secured to the shelf H5 or the toe-supporting rail I5 is a U-shaped member 2| which encloses a portion of the shelf and is fastened by screws 22. This U-shaped member 2| was previously riveted or otherwise secured to another relatively long flat U-shaped member 23, which latter is adapted to engage the outer portions of the guide member 20 and adjacent the edges of the flanges 20a. The U-shaped member 23 is provided with slots 23a through which pass bolts 24. These bolts 24 are secured at their head-ends in small plates 25 which with the bolt 24, cause the U-shaped member 23 to be clamped against the flange 20a and the guide member 20. To effect this clamping action, nuts 24a are provided to draw the parts together. The ends of the bolts 24 may be slightly headed after assembly to prevent loss of the nuts 24a. After assembly of the securing means with the guide member 20, the latter may be fastened to the bottom of the slot by the screws 20!).

I will now describe my pivoted type of securing means. This type is always used on the heel-supporting means if it is desired to tilt this member and on the toe-supporting means and the front and rear shelves if it is desired to tilt these members. As has already been stated the guide member 20 may be used with both the pivoted and non-pivoted type of securing means.

In the pivoted type, I use a U-shaped member 30 similar in cross section to the U-shaped member 23 already described. Pivoted near the middle at 3! is the pivoted member 32. This pivoted member 32 carries the heel supporting means M to which it is secured by the screws 33 through the slot 32a. By loosening the screws 33, a forward or rearward adjustment may be given to the heel-supporting means, after which the screws may be tightened to retain the adjustment. The bolts 24 with their nuts 24a cooperating with the plates 25 are provided, the bolts passing through the slots 30a in the U- shaped member 30. This construction has already been described.

In order to clamp the pivoted member 32 in its adjusted position, I provide a clamping bolt 34 having a wing nut 35. The bolt 34 passes through the arcuate slot 322) and has its head secured to the U-shaped member 30. By placing the pivoted member 32 with its attached heelsupporting means M in the desired position and. clamping the wing nut 35, the heel-supporting means l4 may be retained in its proper position.

A suitable size-card strip 40 is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 3a for attachment to the front shelf l5 or the toe-supporting means l5. In this strip may be placed cards indicating the sizes of the shoes carried at that portion of the rack.

In order to insure the proper spacing of the shoes on the racks, I provide separating tabs 50 and 5| for the rear and front rails respectively. These tabs have respective rib portions 50a, 51a, which are slidably mounted in suitable grooves in the rails I4, l5.

The rails l4, [5 are provided with clamping members 14a, l5a which with suitable screws serve to clamp the tabs in any desired position throughout the length of the rails l4, I5.

In use, the proper number of heel and toesupporting rails are provided and inserted in place. The desired number of front and rear shelves are also placed. By now adjusting the shelves and the heel and toe-supporting rails for height and the heel-supporting rail for angularity, the exact desired effect can be obtained. The securing and clamping means will hold the coacting parts. in the desired positions until it is desired to make another change.

I find that this type of shoe rack is very attractive to customers. It shows off the shoes to a maximum advantage. The adjustable features have not only practical advantages by permitting a maximum number of shoes to be shown, but they permit the salesman or store decorator to use his artistic abilities in a way heretofore impossible.

While I have illustrated and described in detail an embodiment of my invention, I desire to have it understood that the disclosure is merely illustrative and that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1. A shoe rack having means for supporting the toes of the shoes, means for supporting the heels of the shoes and means for pivotally adjusting one of the supporting means independently of and about a center distant from the other supporting means.

2. A shoe rack having means for supporting the toes of the shoes, means independent of the toe-supporting means for supporting the heels of the shoes and means for securing one of the supporting means in any one of a plurality of positions varying in height and adjustable means for securing one supporting means in any one of a plurality of angular positions about a center distant from the other supporting means.

3. A shoe rack having supporting means for the toes of the shoes, supporting means at a sufiicient distance therefrom to support the heels of the shoes, the toe and heel-supporting means being each independently adjustable as to height, one of the supporting means having a pivotal adjustment.

4. A shoe rack having two uprights at each end and spaced apart a distance less than the length of a shoe, a heel-supporting means extending from an upright at one end to an upright at the other end, a toe-supporting means extending between the other two uprights, guide means along the uprights and means for securing the supporting means to the guide means at any one of a plurality of different heights and means for pivotally mounting one of the. supporting means relative to its uprights to vary its angular position.

5. A shoe rack having uprights at each end, shoe-heel supporting means, shoe-toe supporting means independent of the heel supporting means, guide means along the respective supporting means, separate and independent shoe separating means supported by the respective guide means and means for securing the separating means in the desired position along the supporting means.

WILLIAM C. PEASE. 

